EQT Offers to Buy Wind Developer OX2 in $1.5 Billion Deal

(Bloomberg) -- EQT AB is bolstering its green ambitions by seeking to take one of Sweden’s largest wind park developers private.

The private equity firm’s EQT Infrastructure VI is offering 16.4 billion kronor ($1.5 billion) for OX2 AB, a 43.4% premium from last close, the firm said in a statement. The wind company’s shares jumped the most on record when trading started in the Swedish capital on Monday. 

The deal is the latest sign of the firm’s increasing involvement in the renewables sector in Europe and the US as it seeks to profit from the growing electrification of the world’s most advanced economies. So far EQT’s funds have invested around €12 billion into energy transition with previous purchases including German power producer Tion Renewables and Cypress Creek Renewables in the US.

The transaction is “spot on for EQT and our strategy in the energy transition space,” said Christoph Balzer, a partner at EQT Partners and head of the European energy team. “We’ll continue geographically and technology-wise what the company has been doing, and we’ll obviously continue with the team, which we strongly support.”

OX2 is Sweden’s largest publicly traded wind firm. It has projects from its home market to Australia. The firm made its first quarterly loss in the previous period and shares are down by almost a quarter this year. 

According to Balzer, the plan is to transform OX2 into a “hybrid” independent power producer that keeps assets on the balance sheet, something that is “better done in a private setting than in the public markets.”

OX2’s largest shareholder Peas Industries — representing about 46% of the shares and votes in OX2 — has said it will support the deal. The independent bid committee of the board of directors of OX2 also unanimously agreed to recommend that shareholders accept the offer. 

EQT says it is well positioned to become a good owner of OX2, bringing extensive experience investing in the renewables sector and in the energy transition broadly. The firm plans to provide additional investment in OX2’s pipeline. 

The full offer documents are to be published on June 24 with the deal scheduled to close in October.

(Adds share price and quotes from EQT partner Christoph Balzer)

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